The Raptors need 3-point shooting and better offensive creation to build on this season’s success. Trey Murphy III doesn’t offer the latter, but he is everything else the Raptors should be looking for in a potential trade target: a tall, defensive-minded perimeter player who shot 37.9% on 8.6 3-point attempts per game this past season. He would fit their defensive identity and vastly improve the spacing on the floor in any lineup.
Murphy is the kind of player that almost any team in the NBA could use, and he has already drawn interest from other Eastern Conference contenders, as reported by Marc Stein in the June 12 edition of The Stein Line.
“Two teams known to have expressed interest in the 25-year-old sharpshooter, I’m told, are Detroit and Indiana,” Stein wrote.
Of course, simply expressing interest in Murphy doesn’t mean that either team will get him. The Pelicans don’t have to trade Murphy, so they can ask for a lot and wait until a team is desperate enough to give in.
But if Murphy does end up in Indiana or Detroit, it would not be great for the Raptors.
The Pacers and Pistons could become very, very dangerous with Murphy in the mix
The Raptors came out on top in a close race for the final two playoff spots and the play-in tournament. Replicating that success may be more difficult next season, especially if the teams around them are ready to make big trades to improve.
The Pacers finished fourteenth in the Eastern Conference this season. They have Pascal Siakam and Ivica Zubac, though, and will get Tyrese Haliburton back from injury. They don’t need Murphy to push their way back into the playoff picture, but adding him would make them even more dangerous.
The Pistons already finished first in the conference with their limited offensive abilities. Adding a high-level 3-point shooter like Murphy could be the missing piece for them.
Between the Hornets’ and Magic’s looming rise and Giannis Antetokounmpo’s wish of staying in the Eastern Conference if he’s traded from the Bucks, there’s already enough potential improvement going around without two of the teams expected to certainly (barring any injuries) stand between the Raptors and a top spot in the standings also getting better.
What would make it hurt even more if Murphy landed with the Pistons or Pacers is that he could also help the Raptors take a step forward, especially if they cannot find a high-level point guard to trade for. Murphy has long been floated as an intriguing target for the Raptors by fans and writers across different outlets because he would be such a natural fit for the Raptors’ identity and needs. However, there has been no official reporting yet that the Raptors have been in touch with the Pelicans about a potential offseason trade for Murphy.
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